Thoughts on Christian Living Book #2 by Dr. W. A. Dillard - HTML preview

READING WORDS AND COMPREHENDING IDEAS

From the ancient pages of the major prophet Isaiah, comes one of the most popular, and oft memorized verses of scripture. It reads, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

Reading the verse in the English language is not difficult for the literate, but understanding what those words are meant to convey is another story. Offered here, then, is a more detailed definition of the key words of the verse, and an amplification of what is believed to be conveyed. First, the eleven key words, then their pronunciation in Hebrew, and definition.

“Wait,” “Kaw-vaw’, to wait, look for, hope, expect.

“LORD” “ehyeh,” the progressively coming one, Jehovah or Yahweh.

“Renew” “Khaw-laf’,” Change, to come on anew, show newness (as

in spring vegetation).

“Strength” “Ko’-akh,” Firm up, strength, power, might.

“Up,” “Aw-law’ Spring upward, extend, to excel, to go up, ascend.

“Wings,” “Ay-ber’,” Pinion, wing.

“Eagles,” “Neh’-sher,” Eagle, vulture.

“Run,” “Roots” To run, to dart swiftly, move hurriedly.

“Weary,” “Yaw-gah’,” To toil, labor, be weary, lacking spiritual and/or

mental energy.

“Walk,” “Yaw-lak’,” To go, walk, make forward progress.

“Faint,” “Yaw-af’,” To be or grow weary, fatigued, faint

(lacking in energy and/or motivation)

From the word analysis above, one may progress to word synthesis to include an amplification of ideas that are definitely associated with the terms. Including those ideas makes the verse considerably longer, but may bring heightened joy in comprehending their ideas. Here is such an expanded verse.

“But they that wait upon, [hope in, expect from, and look for] the LORD [Yahweh, the progressively. self-revealing God of Abraham] shall renew [change, show newness of] their strength [power, and motivation] they shall mount up [spring upward, excel, ascend upward] with wings of eagles [or high floating vultures] they shall run [dart swiftly, and move hurriedly along] and not be weary [due to toil, labor, or lacking mental or spiritual energy] and they shall walk [go, make forward progress] and not faint [grow weary, fatigued, or lacking in spiritual and mental motivation.]”

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